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Commitment and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies
Repurchase Commitments
In connection with its dealers’ wholesale floor-plan financing of boats, the Company has entered into repurchase agreements with various lending institutions. The reserve methodology used to record an estimated expense and loss reserve in each accounting period is based upon an analysis of likely repurchases based on current field inventory and likelihood of repurchase. Subsequent to the inception of the repurchase commitment, the Company evaluates the likelihood of repurchase and adjusts the estimated loss reserve and related consolidated statement of operations account accordingly. This potential loss reserve is presented in accrued liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. If the Company were obligated to repurchase a significant number of units under any repurchase agreement, its business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Repurchases and subsequent sales are recorded as a revenue transaction. The net difference between the original repurchase price and the resale price is recorded against the loss reserve and presented in cost of goods sold in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). No units were repurchased for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2015, 2014 and 2013. The Company did not carry a reserve for repurchases as of June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Lease Commitments
In connection with a sale-leaseback transaction as of March 2008, the Company now leases its manufacturing and office facilities for $156 per month with periodic inflationary adjustments, plus the payment of property taxes, normal maintenance, and insurance on the property under an agreement which expires March 2028, with three 10-year options to extend, at the Company’s discretion. Refer to Note 6 for more information.
The Company also has various other leases for operating facilities in both U.S. and Australia and machinery and equipment under operating leases that expire over the next three years. The total rental expense for the years ended June 30, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $2,256 , $2,088 and $1,889, respectively.
Future minimum lease payments under noncancelable operating leases as of June 30, 2015, are as follows:
 
 
As of June 30, 2015
Fiscal Year
 
 
2016
 
$
2,272

2017
 
2,218

2018
 
2,223

2019
 
2,373

2020
 
2,378

Thereafter
 
18,359

 
 
$
29,823


Contingencies
Product Liability
The Company is engaged in a business that exposes it to claims for product liability and warranty claims in the event the Company’s products actually or allegedly fail to perform as expected or the use of the Company’s products results, or is alleged to result, in property damage, personal injury or death. Although the Company maintains product and general liability insurance of the types and in the amounts that the Company believes are customary for the industry, the Company is not fully insured against all such potential claims. The Company may have the ability to refer claims to its suppliers and their insurers to pay the costs associated with any claims arising from the suppliers’ products. The Company’s insurance covers such claims that are not adequately covered by a supplier’s insurance and provides for excess secondary coverage above the limits provided by the Company’s suppliers.
The Company may experience legal claims in excess of its insurance coverage or claims that are not covered by insurance, either of which could adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. Adverse determination of material product liability and warranty claims made against the Company could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and harm its reputation. In addition, if any of the Company products are, or are alleged to be, defective, the Company may be required to participate in a recall of that product if the defect or alleged defect relates to safety. These and other claims that the Company faces could be costly to the Company and require substantial management attention. Refer to Note 8 for discussion of warranty claims. The Company insures against product liability claims and believes there are no material product liability claims as of June 30, 2015 that would not be covered by our insurance.
Litigation
Certain conditions may exist which could result in a loss, but which will only be resolved when future events occur. The Company, in consultation with its legal counsel, assesses such contingent liabilities, and such assessments inherently involve an exercise of judgment. If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a loss has been incurred, the Company accrues for such contingent loss when it can be reasonably estimated. If the assessment indicates that a potentially material loss contingency is not probable but reasonably estimable, or is probable but cannot be estimated, the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material, is disclosed. Estimates of potential legal fees and other directly related costs associated with contingencies are not accrued but rather are expensed as incurred. Except as disclosed below, management does not believe there are any pending claims (asserted or unasserted) at June 30, 2015 or June 30, 2014 that will have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. See ‘Legal Proceedings’ section below for more detail on on-going litigation.
Legal Proceedings
On August 27, 2010, Pacific Coast Marine Windshields Ltd., or "PCMW," filed suit against the Company and certain third parties, including Marine Hardware, Inc., a third-party supplier of windshields to the Company, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking monetary and injunctive relief. PCMW was a significant supplier of windshields to the Company through 2008, when the Company sought an alternative vendor of windshields in response to defective product supplied by PCMW. PCMW’s amended complaint alleged, among other things, infringement of a design patent and two utility patents related to marine windshields, copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets. The Company denied any liability arising from the causes of action alleged by PCMW and filed a counter claim alleging PCMW’s infringement of one of the Company's patents, conversion of two of the patents asserted against the Company, unfair competition and breach of contract. In December 2012, the court granted partial summary judgment in the Company's favor, holding that the Company did not infringe the design patent asserted against the Company. PCMW appealed the court’s decision and dismissed all remaining claims against the Company, other than the claims of copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets. The court stayed the remaining matters pending resolution of PCMW’s appeal. On January 8, 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court reversed the decision granting summary judgment in the Company's favor regarding the design patent asserted against the Company, and the case was remanded to the district court. The appellate court’s decision did not affect any of the Company's other defenses to any of PCMW’s claims, including the design patent claim, nor did it affect any of the Company's claims against PCMW. The district court scheduled a hearing on June 3, 2014 for the pending summary judgment motions, and it subsequently entered an order denying those motions and confirming the previously-set trial date of September 22, 2014 on PCMW’s remaining claims for infringement of a design patent, copyright, and trade secret misappropriation and the Company’s claims against PCMW for declaratory relief, conversion, breach of warranty, and unfair competition. As part of the order dated August 22, 2014, denying the Company’s summary judgment motion, the district court ruled that if successful at trial in proving that the Company infringes the design patent, PCMW would be allowed to seek recovery of Malibu’s profits from the sale of the boats using the alleged infringing windshield, and not merely the profits from the windshield. On September 15, 2014, the Company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding between it and PCMW subject to the execution of a definitive settlement agreement which is expected to occur on or prior to September 29, 2014. As a result, the Company paid $20.0 million in cash to to the plaintiffs, PCMW and Darren Bach, upon entry into a definitive agreement or such later date as the parties agree, and the parties have released each other from all past and present claims. Further, the plaintiffs, including PCMW, have agreed not to sue on now-existing intellectual property rights. Accordingly, the Company recorded a one-time charge of $20.0 million in connection with the settlement for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014.
On October 31, 2013, the Company filed suit against Nautique Boat Company, Inc., or "Nautique," in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee alleging infringement of two of the Company's patents and seeking monetary and injunctive relief. This Tennessee lawsuit is a re-filing of a California patent infringement lawsuit against Nautique that was dismissed without prejudice on October 31, 2013. On November 1, 2013, Nautique filed for declaratory judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claiming that it has not infringed the two patents identified in the original complaint in the Tennessee lawsuit. The Tennessee court has enjoined Nautique from maintaining the Florida lawsuit which is partially duplicative. Nautique has dismissed the Florida lawsuit to comply with the Tennessee court’s ruling. On December 13, 2013, the Company amended the Company's complaint to add another of its patents to the Tennessee lawsuit. All three patents in the case relate to the Company's proprietary wake surfing technology.
On June 27, 2014, Nautique filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or “PTO,” requesting institution of an Inter Partes Review, or “IPR,” of the Company’s U.S. Pat. No. 8,539,897, one of the three patents at issue in the Tennessee litigation. On February 6, 2015, the Company and Nautique entered into a Settlement Agreement (the "Nautique Settlement Agreement") to settle a lawsuit filed by the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee alleging infringement by Nautique of three of the Company's patents. Under the terms of the Nautique Settlement Agreement, Nautique made a one-time payment of $2,250 and entered into a license agreement for the payment of future royalties for boats sold by Nautique using the licensed technology. The parties agreed to dismiss all claims in the patent litigation and jointly request the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to terminate the patent challenge.
On February 17, 2015, the parties dismissed the patent litigation with prejudice and on February 25, 2015, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office terminated the inter parties review proceeding.
On June 29, 2015, the Company filed suit against MasterCraft Boat Company, LLC, or "MasterCraft," in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, seeking monetary and injunctive relief. The Company's complaint alleged MasterCraft's infringement of a utility patent related to wake surfing technology. MasterCraft denied liability arising from the causes of action alleged in the Company's complaint and filed a counterclaim alleging non-infringement and invalidity of the asserted patent. In August 2015, MasterCraft filed a motion for summary judgment of non-infringement, which the Company will oppose. The Court has not yet issued a scheduling order regarding the schedule for the litigation. The Company intends to vigorously pursue this litigation to enforce its rights in its patented technology and believes that MasterCraft's counterclaims are without merit.